Recently Union Minister of Culture, Mahesh Sharma, has made a remark which has raised many questions and also made him a subject of mockery on Twitter. According to him, Indian culture can be depicted in 7 easy points. As he told a journalist, “I have seven points which can help you understand what Indian culture is.”
However, he mentioned just 5 of them. Here they are:
- Three generations cooking in the same kitchen and eating on the same table
- The relationship between parents and children and the respect they have for each other
- The emotions Indians have for each other and the relationships they respect.
- My (Indian) values and books should be read before you read novels
- Before youth go to gain wisdom from Thailand, Dubai and Singapore, they must gain wisdom from our own museums and heritage.
Minister further said, “These points, according to me, (define) Indian culture. You can say I am conservative.”
When he was asked the remaining two points, the minister asked for explaining them later. According to him, his govt. is keen on “defending Indian culture from encroachment by western culture.”
He added, “Western culture is not bad but it may not be good for us. Here, 15-year-old children don’t leave their parents. A 14-year-old girl wanting a night out maybe all right elsewhere but not in India.”
Union Minister continued, “When there have been attacks on our values and our curriculum, previous governments have not given due care to this.”
Besides, “If at all saffronisation has been done, it has been done by the 125 crore people of the country who gave us a huge mandate. They knew what is RSS, what is BJP. They have given us a mandate to run the country.”
What is more, “prevent the encroachment of western culture on Indian culture” is one of the goals of culture & education ministers of states ruled by Bhartiya Janta Party & Centre, as stated by Sharma.
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